Five Pa. House Democrats hold a Black Lives Matter protest while state Rep. Christopher Rabb (D-Philadelphia) delivers remarks from the Speaker's rostrum on Monday, June 8, 2020. Black lawmakers prevented the regular session from beginning as scheduled in order to protest the killing of George Floyd and to call on the GOP majority to take up a slate of police reform bills.
Courtesy Pa. House Democrats
Courtesy Pa. House Democrats
Five Pa. House Democrats hold a Black Lives Matter protest while state Rep. Christopher Rabb (D-Philadelphia) delivers remarks from the Speaker's rostrum on Monday, June 8, 2020. Black lawmakers prevented the regular session from beginning as scheduled in order to protest the killing of George Floyd and to call on the GOP majority to take up a slate of police reform bills.
Courtesy Pa. House Democrats
Five Pa. House Democrats hold a Black Lives Matter protest while state Rep. Christopher Rabb (D-Philadelphia) delivers remarks from the Speaker’s rostrum on Monday, June 8, 2020. Black lawmakers prevented the regular session from beginning as scheduled in order to protest the killing of George Floyd and to call on the GOP majority to take up a slate of police reform bills.
During their Monday protest inside the Pennsylvania House of Representatives chamber, Black legislators repeatedly said they want to see action on more than a dozen bills related to policing..
Later on Monday, state Reps. Jordan Harris (D-Philadelphia) and Summer Lee (D-Allegheny) both made the same point about the proposals: They aren’t radical.
So what are the proposals? Here’s a rundown of what 13 bills currently awaiting action in the House Judiciary Committee would do:
Require law enforcement agencies to fire police officers who test positive for drug use.
Require the state attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor whenever an on-duty police officer uses deadly force that may amount to criminal homicide.
Require police officers to undergo Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) evaluations every other year and within 30 days of an incident involving the use of lethal force.
Preventing someone from escaping an arrest would no longer be a good enough reason to use deadly force. Instead, an officer could use deadly force to prevent imminent death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or “sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat.”
Require law enforcement agencies to keep detailed personnel records about officers, including information about substantiated complaints and disciplinary actions. Those records would be filed with the attorney general’s office, which would maintain them in an electronic database. Police departments would have to check that database when hiring an officer.
Prohibit police officers accused of sexual assault of a person in custody to argue that a victim gave consent as a defense in court.
Create a statewide council responsible for certifying, training and licensing police officers.
Require employers to release information to law enforcement agencies performing background checks on prospective hires (the House Judiciary Committee plans to consider this bill on Monday).
Allow the public to have expanded access to police body camera and dashboard camera footage.
Create a standard “Use of Force” report that law enforcement agencies would have to use.
Put into law that members of the public have the right to record police officers working in public, as long as a citizen is a location where it’s legal for them to be and they don’t interfere with the officer’s official duties.
Require a law enforcement agency’s governing body to approve a public resolution before applying for federal military equipment. A public hearing would be required before the vote.
Increase training requirements with the goal of helping officers recognize signs of child abuse (the House Judiciary Committee plans to consider this bill on Monday).
One thing you don’t see on the list is defunding the police.
Other bills in the state Senate: The list of bills that House members want to see action on includes six others in the state Senate, according to House Democratic Caucus spokesman Bill Patton. Some of those measures overlap with legislation on the House list. But others don’t. That includes a proposal to increase the situations when police are required to record an interrogation.
The Auditor General: On Tuesday, Eugene DePasquale (D) unveiled his own plan for police reform. According to Erie News Now, the proposal “focuses on the events that occur to a person following an arrest and charges are filed.” DePasquale, who’s challenging Rep. Scott Perry in one of the most competitive House races in the nation this fall, said: “Enacting criminal justice reforms can produce big savings, big taxpayer savings for Pennsylvania taxpayers while creating a more equitable approach to enforcing our laws.”
Further reading about police reform at the local level:
Pittsburgh-Post Gazette: Allegheny council members Bennett, Hallam want to ban ‘less lethal’ crowd-control devices
WESA: Pittsburgh City Council Introduce Bills To Address Police Tactics
PublicSource: Pittsburgh City Council introduces public safety reform legislation, but residents demand more
The Philadelphia Inquirer: After days of protests against police brutality, Mayor Jim Kenney pledges police reforms
PlanPhilly: Mayor Kenney walks back police budget boost and vows reforms — but not enough, critics say
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Camden disbanded its police department and built a new one. Can others learn from it?
Dan Nott / For Spotlight PA
The Wolf administration has been criticized for its slow response to the coronavirus in Pennsylvania nursing homes, and is only now mandating universal testing.
Nursing home testing: Spotlight PA’s Aneri Pattani takes another look at the lack of COVID-19 testing in nursing homes across Pennsylvania. Charlene Harrington, a professor of sociology and nursing at the University of California San Francisco, said the newest plan from Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is “really incredibly slow.”
How much federal CARES Act money will your county receive? PA Post’s Ben Pontz broke down the numbers. He also included this delightful lede: “Lancaster and York counties share quite a bit: a river, a congressman, and an historical allusion to the War of the Roses in their names, to name a few.” (But Lancaster is receiving a lot more money than York.)
Reopening concerns: As businesses reopen, they are changing floor plans to accommodate social distancing recommendations. And that’s a concern for firefighters, who want to make sure exits aren’t accidentally blocked, flammable hand sanitizers are stored safely, and parking lots remain accessible to emergency vehicles. See the Reading Eagle’s story.
Alternating school days: One idea to ensure there’s enough space between desks at one Lehigh Valley school district is having students attend classes in person on alternating days, based on their last names, The Morning Call reports.
An end to the disaster declaration? The Pennsylvania General Assembly last night approved a resolution to end Gov. Wolf’s three-month-old coronavirus disaster declaration. Republican leaders and the Wolf administration disagree about what happens now. As Ben Pontz reported last month, this separation of powers fight is likely headed to court.
Primary lesson: Lots and lots of mailed ballots didn’t arrive at county elections offices by the deadline for last week’s Pa. primary. In some cases, that was OK, as Gov. Wolf ordered an extension for a handful of counties most affected by the George Floyd protests. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jonathan Lai, the “clear takeaway” for election officials is that the November vote “could be even worse.”
Big days for Erie: Today and tomorrow are big days for people of Erie. The state Board of Education will hold a virtual hearing to decide on the county’s community college application. Today’s hearing begins at 1 p.m. For details on how to watch, click here. Thursday’s hearing starts at 9 a.m. I’ll be covering live, and you can follow me on Twitter @edmahonreporter. GoErie.com’s Matthew Rink recently took a deep look at the plan to fund the community college.
Clarification:
Tuesday’s Context linked to a Facebook page where groups associated with the George Floyd protests in Philadelphia listed their demands. That list, as a reader from Pen Argyl noted, doesn’t reflect the views of all protesters, nor was how it was drafted (and who endorsed it) clearly listed. That’s a fair critique. We linked to it to give readers an idea of what protesters are demanding, but our labeling of that link should have been clearer.
In the interest of keeping the conversation going, here are a few journalistic attempts to explain what the protesters want to achieve:
The Atlantic: The Enormous Scale of This Movement
Portland Oregonian: Who’s taking part in Portland’s George Floyd protests? What do they want? When will it end?
ABC: Why protesters want to defund the police after George Floyd’s death
York Daily Record: Bobby Simpson, a leader during York’s ’69 uprising, offers advice to young BLM protesters
PennLive: ‘What can I do to fix this?’: Why young people are fueling the protest movement
